Four Hills Tournament
| Four Hills Tournament Vierschanzentournee | |
|---|---|
 logotype | |
| Status | active |
| Genre | sporting event |
| Date | 29/30 December – 6 January |
| Frequency | annual |
| Country | Austria Germany |
| Inaugurated | 1953 |
| Most recent | 2025–26 |
| Organised by | FIS |
| Website | vierschanzentournee |
The Four Hills Tournament (German: Vierschanzentournee) or the German-Austrian Ski Jumping Week (German: Deutsch-Österreichische Skisprung-Woche) is a ski jumping event composed of four World Cup events and has taken place in Germany and Austria each year since 1953. With few exceptions, it has consisted of the ski jumping events held at Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen, in this order.
The Four Hills Tournament champion is the one who gets the most points over the four events. Unlike the World Cup ranking, however, the actual points scored during the competitions are the ones that are used to determine the winner. In 2005–06, Janne Ahonen and Jakub Janda shared the overall victory after finishing with exactly the same points total after the four competitions. In 2001–02, the anniversary 50th edition, Sven Hannawald was the first to achieve the grand slam of ski jumping, winning all four events in the same edition. In 2017–18 season Kamil Stoch became the second ski jumper in history to obtain this achievement, and just a year later, in the 2018–19 edition, Ryōyū Kobayashi became the third.
The four individual events themselves are part of the World Cup and award points toward the world cup in exactly the same manner as all other world cup events.
Tournament hills
[edit]| Date | Image | Place | Hill name | K-Point | Hill size | Hill record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 or 30 December | 
|
 Oberstdorf, Germany
|
Schattenbergschanze | K-120 | HS 137 | 143.5 m (2003) Sigurd Pettersen
| |
| 1 January | 
|
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
|
Große Olympiaschanze | K-125 | HS 142 | 145.0 m (2025)  Michael Hayböck
| |
| 3 or 4 January | 
|
Innsbruck, Austria
|
Bergiselschanze | K-120 | HS 128 | 138.0 m (2015) Michael Hayböck[1]
| |
| 6 January | 
|
Bischofshofen, Austria
|
Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze | K-125 | HS 142 | 145.0 m (2019) Dawid Kubacki
|
Traditionally, the order of the tournament competitions has been: Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck, Bischofshofen – with the following exceptions:
- 1953: Garmisch-Partenkirchen was the first, and Oberstdorf the second event.
- 1956–57, 1961–62, 1962–63: Innsbruck was the second event, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen third.
- 1971–72: Innsbruck was first, and Oberstdorf third.
- 2007–08, 2021–22: The Innsbruck event was cancelled due to bad weather, and replaced with an additional competition at Bischofshofen.
Knock-out system
[edit]One of the tournament's peculiarities is its qualifying system. Unlike other ski jumping events where the best 30 competitors in the first round qualify for the second round, all Four Hills events follow a knock-out system first introduced for the 1996–97 season.[2]
The 50 competitors are divided into 25 pairs. All 25 winners of these duels plus the five best lucky losers qualify for the second round.[2] It is theoretically possible that a competitor who finishes the first round 12th will not qualify for the second round (if he loses his internal duel, five lucky losers and winners of their duels have better results) while the one with the 49th first series result may still qualify (if his "rival" has the worst result). On the other hand, jumpers are less likely to be disadvantaged by a possible significant change in weather conditions between the start and end of the first series. A change in the direction and speed of the wind can make it impossible for the best jumpers to produce a good result. In the event of significantly worse conditions during the second half of the first series, the possibility exists that most of the best jumpers would be eliminated by bad luck alone. Directly pairing rivals reduces the impact of these conditions. In this competition format the qualifying series are valued as well, since jumpers with a better qualification result will have the opportunity to compete against jumpers with worse result. Therefore, it is not enough for a jumper to be among 50 best jumpers in qualifications (with whatever result), but it is better for him to achieve a result as good as possible.[citation needed]
The first jumper in the competition is the one who qualified 26th, followed by his pair who qualified 25th. The next pair has 27th and 24th from the qualification, one after that 28th and 23rd etc. The last pair has last qualified jumper against qualification winner.[3]
If qualification is postponed until the day of competition, the knock-out system is not used, and competition follows regular world cup rules. Because of that in the 2007/08 tournament, the knock-out system was used only in Oberstdorf.[citation needed]
List of winners
[edit]
| * | Won all four events in the same season |
| Won three events in the same season |
- Notes
Records
[edit]Individual wins in a season
[edit]Below is an overview of how many of the tournaments' four events were won by the overall winner in each season:
| Events won | Instances | First | Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|
| All four | 3 | 2001–02 - Sven Hannawald |
2018–19 -  Ryōyū Kobayashi
|
| Three | 17 | 1953–54 - Olav Bjørnstad |
2022–23 - Halvor Egner Granerud
|
| Two | 21 | 1957–58 - Helmut Recknagel |
2025–26 -  Domen Prevc
|
| One | 25 | 1953 - Sepp Bradl |
2019–20 - Dawid Kubacki
|
| None | 9 | 1954–55 -  Hemmo Silvennoinen |
2023–24 - Ryōyū Kobayashi
|
- Note: In the 2005–06 tournament, two competitors ended up as overall winners, so even though there have been 74 tournaments so far, the total in this overview shows 75.
Most individual wins
[edit]| Name | Events won | First | Last | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bjørn Wirkola |
10 | 1964–65 (Bischofshofen) | 1971–72 (Bischofshofen) | 8 seasons |
 Jens Weissflog |
1982–83 (Bischofshofen) | 1995–96 (Bischofshofen) | 14 seasons | |
| Janne Ahonen |
9 | 1994–95 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 2007–08 (Bischofshofen) | 14 seasons |
| Gregor Schlierenzauer |
2006–07 (Oberstdorf) | 2012–13 (Bischofshofen) | 7 seasons | |
| Ryōyū Kobayashi |
8 | 2018–19 (Oberstdorf) | 2021–22 (Bischofshofen #1) | 4 seasons |
| Matti Nykänen |
7 | 1981–82 (Oberstdorf) | 1988–89 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 8 seasons |
| Kamil Stoch |
2016–17 (Bischofshofen) | 2020–21 (Bischofshofen) | 5 seasons | |
| Helmut Recknagel |
6 | 1957–58 (Innsbruck) | 1960–61 (Bischofshofen) | 4 seasons |
| Sven Hannawald |
1997–98 (Bischofshofen) | 2002–03 (Oberstdorf) | 6 seasons | |
| Andreas Goldberger |
5 | 1992–93 (Innsbruck) | 1995–96 (Innsbruck) | 4 seasons |
| Kazuyoshi Funaki |
1994–95 (Innsbruck) | 1997–98 (Innsbruck) | 4 seasons | |
| Thomas Morgenstern |
2007–08 (Oberstdorf) | 2011–12 (Bischofshofen) | 5 seasons | |
| Stefan Kraft |
2014–15 (Oberstdorf) | 2024–25 (Innsbruck) | 11 seasons | |
| Veikko Kankkonen |
4 | 1963–64 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 1965–66 (Bischofshofen) | 3 seasons |
 Jiří Raška |
1967–68 (Bischofshofen) | 1969–70 (Bischofshofen) | 3 seasons | |
| Toni Innauer |
1975–76 (Oberstdorf) | 1976–77 (Oberstdorf) | 2 seasons | |
| Jochen Danneberg |
1975–76 (Innsbruck) | 1979–80 (Oberstdorf) | 5 seasons | |
| Hubert Neuper |
1979–80 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 1981–82 (Bischofshofen) | 3 seasons | |
| Diether Thoma |
1988–89 (Oberstdorf) | 1996–97 (Bischofshofen) | 9 seasons | |
| Andreas Widhölzl |
1998–99 (Bischofshofen) | 1999–00 (Bischofshofen) | 2 seasons | |
| Martin Schmitt |
1998–99 (Oberstdorf) | 2000–01 (Oberstdorf) | 4 seasons | |
| Anders Jacobsen |
2006–07 (Innsbruck) | 2014–15 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 9 seasons | |
| Olav Bjørnstad |
3 | 1953–54 (Oberstdorf) | 1953–54 (Innsbruck) | 1 season |
| Aulis Kallakorpi |
1954–55 (Oberstdorf) | 1955–56 (Oberstdorf) | 2 seasons | |
| Max Bolkart |
1959–60 (Oberstdorf) | 1959–60 (Innsbruck) | 1 season | |
| Eino Kirjonen |
1955–56 (Oberstdorf) | 1961–62 (Oberstdorf) | 7 seasons | |
| Willi Egger |
1957–58 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 1961–62 (Bischofshofen) | 5 seasons | |
| Toralf Engan |
1962–63 (Oberstdorf) | 1962–63 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 1 season | |
| Dieter Neuendorf |
1965–66 (Innsbruck) | 1967–68 (Oberstdorf) | 3 seasons | |
| Ingolf Mork |
1970–71 (Oberstdorf) | 1970–71 (Bischofshofen) | 1 season | |
| Yukio Kasaya |
1971–72 (Innsbruck) | 1971–72 (Oberstdorf) | 1 season | |
| Karl Schnabl |
1974–75 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 1974–75 (Bischofshofen) | 1 season | |
| Andreas Felder |
1990–91 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 1991–92 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 2 seasons | |
| Toni Nieminen |
1991–92 (Oberstdorf) | 1991–92 (Bischofshofen) | 1 season | |
| Noriaki Kasai |
1992–93 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 2000–01 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 9 seasons | |
| Sigurd Pettersen |
2003–04 (Oberstdorf) | 2003–04 (Bischofshofen) | 1 season | |
| Wolfgang Loitzl |
2008–09 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 2008–09 (Bischofshofen) | 1 season | |
 Simon Ammann |
2008–09 (Oberstdorf) | 2013–14 (Oberstdorf) | 6 seasons | |
| Peter Prevc |
2015–16 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 2015–16 (Bischofshofen) | 1 season | |
| Dawid Kubacki |
2019–20 (Bischofshofen) | 2022–23 (Innsbruck) | 4 seasons | |
| Halvor Egner Granerud |
2022–23 (Oberstdorf) | 2022–23 (Bischofshofen) | 1 season | |
| Daniel Tschofenig |
2024–25 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) | 2025–26 (Bischofshofen) | 2 seasons |
Most overall titles
[edit]Consecutive titles
[edit]| Titles | Name | Tournament(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Bjørn Wirkola |
1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69 |
| 2 | Helmut Recknagel |
1957–58, 1958–59 |
| Jochen Danneberg |
1975–76, 1976–77 | |
| Hubert Neuper |
1979–80, 1980–81 | |
| Jens Weissflog |
1983–84, 1984–85 | |
| Ernst Vettori |
1985–86, 1986–87 | |
| Janne Ahonen |
2004–05, 2005–06 | |
| Gregor Schlierenzauer |
2011–12, 2012–13 | |
| Kamil Stoch |
2016–17, 2017–18 |
Titles by nation
[edit]| Nations | Titles |
|---|---|
| Austria |
17 |
| Finland |
16 |
| Norway |
11 |
| East Germany |
9 |
| Poland |
5 |
| Japan |
4 |
| West Germany
| |
| Germany |
3 |
| Slovenia
| |
| Czechoslovakia |
1 |
| Czech Republic
| |
 Soviet Union
|
- Note: In the 2005–06 tournament, two competitors ended up as overall winners, so even though there have been 74 tournaments so far, the total in this overview shows 75.
Memorable events
[edit]In 1965, Polish jumper Stanisław Marusarz (silver medalist at the 1938 World Championship) who was just visiting the tournament, asked the jury in Garmisch-Partenkirchen to allow him to perform a showcase jump. After a long debate, the jury agreed. Marusarz, who, at the time, was 53 years old (and had last competed nine years prior) completed a jump with a distance of 66 meters, using borrowed skies and boots, and wearing a business attire in which he had attended a New Year's party the night before.[4]
Jens Weißflog was the first ski jumper to reach four wins, winning the tournament in 1983–84, 1984–85, 1990–91, and 1995–96.
The only instance when two competitors were proclaimed overall winners was at the 2005–06 tournament, when both Janne Ahone and Jakub Janda were crowned champions.
In 2000–01, Adam Małysz beat second-placed Janne Ahonen by 104.4 points, which is the biggest winning margin in tournament's history.
The following year, Sven Hannawald became the first person to win all four competitions in a single season. In 2017–18, Kamil Stoch repeated Hannawald's feat, and the following year, Ryōyū Kobayashi became the third person to win all four events in the same season.
National quota
[edit]As seen in some other competitions as well, the Four Hills Tournament allows many domestic ski jumpers, most of whom are young, participate in the qualifying round of their local competition (in Austria or Germany), thereby giving them an opportunity to gain experience at the highest level.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Germany's Freitag wins 3rd stop of 4 Hills Tour". Yahoo Sports. 4 January 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ a b Marta Wawrzyniak (27 December 2016). "System KO, czyli zasady Turnieju Czterech Skoczni". skoki24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ^ "RULES FOR THE FIS SKI JUMPING WORLD CUP (MEN)/REGLEMENT FÜR DEN FIS WELTCUP SKISPRINGEN (HERREN) 2016/2017" (PDF). International Ski and Snowboard Federation (in English and German). p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ^ "Skoki narciarskie. Turniej Czterech Skoczni: Marusarz lepszy od Nykaenena".
External links
[edit]
Media related to Four Hills Tournament at Wikimedia Commons
- Four Hills Tournament
- International sports competitions hosted by Germany
- International sports competitions hosted by Austria
- Ski jumping competitions in Austria
- Ski jumping competitions in Germany
- 1953 establishments in Austria
- 1953 establishments in West Germany
- Recurring sporting events established in 1953
- December in sports
- January in sports
- FIS Ski Jumping World Cup
- Austria–Germany sports relations